Howl
by OhGreat
Summary: Costumes, pools, and sexual tension, oh my. Stevie/Alex.


"Howl"

* * *

"Oh my god, what the hell are you?"

It had been Harper's idea, really. Or maybe it wasn't. But in ten years when Alex looked back on that moment, it would definitely be Harper's fault. Because there was no way—in this world or a magical one—that she would ever wear that much…glitter.

Stevie was laughing. Like, _laughing_.

Alex crossed her arms. "I'm supposed to be a storm's per-son-if-….um…Harper, what the hell am I?"

Harper, who was standing near the dance floor talking to a boy, glanced over. "You're the personification of a light tropical storm! It's a great idea!"

Light tropical storm. Right. Alex glanced at herself in the reflection of a nearby sliding glass door and raised an eyebrow. She had not looked this bad when she left her room only two hours earlier. She was adorned in a yellow dress with what appeared to be miniature palm tree leaves stuck to it; flowers dangled from the hem against her thighs, and her heels were electronic blue. And there was a lot of bare leg showing. Like miles. Apparently the "storm" part of the outfit was her messy-looking hair ("It's like wind blowing through your hair!") and hyper-extreme glitter ("It's rain!") doused all over her face and below.

Alex's explanation hadn't helped. Stevie was still laughing. "And what are you supposed to be, Nichols? Yourself? This is a costume party."

Even with the teasing atmosphere, Alex begrudgingly admitted Stevie looked much better than she did. Tight black pants, a gray vest, and heeled boots, Stevie wasn't dressed up at all. Which apparently was what she was going for.

"I'm Sherlock Holmes," she said, holding up a magnifying glass—which somehow arbitrary represented her entire costume.

They both looked immensely entertained by the weirdness of their outfits, and in a party where most people dressed up as fairies and football players, they were a breath of fresh air.

Yet Stevie seemed decidedly less entertained when a guy came over, stringing his arm around Alex with a sleaziness that transcended the conventional high school jock. Stevie hid her impending frown with an awkward snort.

"Hey, I'm Pete," Alex's apparent date greeted, sticking out his chin.

"Hey, I don't care," Stevie chimed back, unimpressed. When Pete gave her a look and left in search of his buddies, Stevie took her chance to raise an eyebrow. "I didn't know you came with someone."

Alex smirked. "Neither did I." The two girls glanced at Pete, who now had his arm wrapped around another girl as he introduced himself to a second group of friends.

Stevie felt an immense feeling of relief at the misunderstanding and teased, "You must be heartbroken." They grinned. Not wanting to lose her opportunity, Stevie languidly asked, "Want to get of out here?" She motioned at Alex's costume. "I have a spare change of clothes you can borrow."

"As tempting as that sounds, I'm Harper's half of the buddy system tonight," Alex replied, crossing her skinny arms together.

Stevie didn't look disappointed, though she felt it, and when an announcement was made to gather in the main room to sing happy birthday to the party's host, Stevie tried again, suggesting they go out onto the deck in the backyard.

"To escape these festive…festivities," Stevie reasoned.

Alex, hating sugary happiness and birthday girls in general, agreed. They maneuvered out onto the front deck of the backyard, which was home to a pool and fake, brightly lit torches. The dim of the lights fell over the pool in shadows of orange, casting a low hue over Alex's face. Stevie watched her from the corner of her eye.

They sat at the edge of the pool, sticking their feet into the water's surface.

It was a silent night, spring, and warm in its entity. They sat together in a way that suggested an old friendship rather than a new flame, something neither seemed to realize. Finally, Stevie glanced over and nudged Alex with her shoulder.

"I saw your exhibition piece in the auditorium today. It was nice. Are pastels your thing?"

Alex looked momentarily flattered; Stevie liked her work. Not that she cared, but—oh what the hell, she cared. She shrugged, thinking about the last minute piece she'd submitted in the school's art fair: done at midnight, she had lost her acrylics to a trashcan mishap and was forced to use pastels instead. The painting was literally a pair of green eyes staring out of an arbitrary cloud of colors. Nothing special.

"Nah," Alex replied casually, "I like painting. Brushstrokes. Canvases. You know." She paused. "I like to remind the school every once in a while that I can actually care about something."

Stevie laughed. "So, can you draw me then?"

Alex snorted. "Please, that would actually take some form of effort. I don't do effort."

Stevie didn't really seem to buy that, because she grabbed her book bag and pulled out a piece of paper, a notebook, and a pencil. "Then don't try." She was smirking with a suggestive sense of mischief, something Alex found oddly…attractive. Yes, she'd call it that for now.

The piece of paper and pencil hung from Stevie's hand, taunting her skills. She pursed her lips, grabbed the materials, and faced Stevie, crossing her legs. Stevie did the same until they faced each other with a closeness that was borderline strategic in its intimacy. No one noticed the evocative smile overtaking Stevie's smirk.

Alex glanced up at Stevie's face.

Lines.

It was how she broke things down, how she mastered a central subject, how she took ownership of it.

In her sketching there were things she had never noticed about Stevie. The height of her eyebrows and the depth of her cheek bones, the fall of her bangs, the design of her casual expression. Her smile was separate; Alex had always paid attention to the confidence that Stevie's smile carried.

"Well?" Stevie asked, glancing over. "That looks pretty good for no effort."

Alex half-smiled, distracted by the sketch in her hand. "I'm not finished…" She looked away from the drawing, back to her subject.

The lines of Stevie's eyes caught her attention last. They were powerful eyes, near breathtaking in their complexity, a hazel color that seemed to darken with the length of her stare. They were _raw_. There was something unexplainably …alive about her eyes, almost like a spontaneity that couldn't be captured with earthly things. Stevie's stare never broke Alex's, as if a challenge, but there was a provocation in Stevie's gaze that made Alex draw nearer.

That was it.

Stevie was beautiful.

There was tranquility to Stevie's face hidden behind the sarcasm and cockiness, behind her rebel design and street punk lifestyle that Alex hadn't seen before. It was there, quiet but strong, magnetic and alluring. Alex stopped sketching, caught by Stevie's eyes in a way that made her heart accelerate.

Stevie wasn't just staring back; she was watching her.

"You're really pretty, Alex," Stevie murmured, leaning in just enough to make her point pronounced.

Surprised, Alex broke from her trance only long enough to say, "So are you."

And when Stevie placed her hands on either side of Alex's face, she didn't seem taken aback. The drawing separating them, Stevie leaned over her portrait, cupping Alex's face and kissing her lightly.

If it had been anyone else but Stevie, Alex was sure it would have been a ruined moment, but the attraction surging through her body was enough to make her lean in unintentionally, her brain racing against the feel of the kiss. Stevie was a plethora of the same rebellion and provocation Alex found intoxicating, and without really thinking she dropped the pencil and paper. Her hands floundered, unsure of where to fall or where to clasp until they settled at Stevie's waist, chaste and softly placed.

Stevie pulled back first. She locked her raw, complex eyes with Alex's again and smiled, that same bewildering spark illuminating through her face.

Off in the distance they were being called inside, but Alex could barely hear them. It was background noise, unimportant, fading…

"Your eyes are like winter," Alex said to no one, and she kissed Stevie again with a broad, unexplainable smirk.

* * *

**A/N: **I wrote this a few weeks ago, but the ending was driving me nuts up until now (EDIT: Changed it to tie in better with the theme). I feel like I've been in a writing slump for months. :(

Anyway, still obsessed with Stevie/Alex. I think I'm going to write a Stevie character study next, which might help me get over my slump a little.

Review? Please? Pretty please? Cookies?


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